Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Chosen as International Boxing Leader, To Steer Sport Towards Olympic Games in LA 2028
Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will be elected president of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
Golovkin, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and achieved the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. As a result, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.
This position used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee in the year 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his platform, the boxing veteran, whose initial term lasts through 2027, promised to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I proudly won a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he wrote. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.
“I am committed to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for athletes of all genders in all corners of the globe.”
The IOC directly managed the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were overshadowed by rows over gender eligibility, it said it needed a new partner by the 2028 Olympics.
In the month of February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For the championships, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a move that the IOC is also evaluating for LA 2028.